Monte Carlo Study of the Square-Lattice Annealed Ising Model on Percolating Clusters

Simulations of an Ising q-state Pods model which is equivalent to the Ising model on annealed percolation clusters are used to determine the phase diagram of the model in two dimensions. Three topologically different phase diagrams are obtained: (i) for q=2, there are two critical Ising lines meeting at T=0 at the four-state Potts critical point; (ii) for 24, the Ising:critical line intersects a Line of first-order transitions at a critical end point

Monte Carlo Study of the Square-Lattice Annealed Ising Model on Percolating Clusters

Simulations of an Ising q-state Pods model which is equivalent to the Ising model on annealed percolation clusters are used to determine the phase diagram of the model in two dimensions. Three topologically different phase diagrams are obtained: (i) for q=2, there are two critical Ising lines meeting at T=0 at the four-state Potts critical point; (ii) for 24, the Ising:critical line intersects a Line of first-order transitions at a critical end point

High flux cold Rubidium atomic beam for strongly coupled Cavity QED

This paper presents a setup capable of producing a high-flux continuous beam of cold rubidium atoms for cavity QED experiments in the regime of strong coupling. A 2 $D^+$ MOT, loaded by rubidium getters in a dry film coated vapor cell, fed a secondary moving-molasses MOT (MM-MOT) at a rate of 1.5 x $10^{10}$ atoms/sec. The MM-MOT provided a continuous beam with tunable velocity. This beam was then directed through the waist of a 280 $\mu$m cavity resulting in a Rabi splitting of more than +/- 10 MHz. The presence of sufficient number of atoms in the cavity mode also enabled splitting in the polarization perpendicular to the input. The cavity was in the strong coupling regime, with parameters (g, $\kappa$, $\gamma$)/2$\pi$ equal to (7, 3, 6)/ 2$\pi$ MHz.Comment: Journal pape

Spatial patterns of common trees canopies in subtropical Chinese forests and its influence on soil erosion processes

The hilly red soil regions in Southeastern China are still suffering from considerable soil erosion; despite long-lasting afforestation projects have been established to counteract soil losses. Even if a high number of studies on water erosion were conducted in this region, few is known about how different tree species and functional traits, such as crown cover, affect throughfall kinetic energy and thus splash erosion. In this study, a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) has been used to retrieve canopy structural patterns and spatial distribution of conifers and broadleaved trees and to investigate limitations for soil erosion control. Six different tree species in monocultures and different species mixtures were scanned within BEF China; a large forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) experiment in Jiangxi Province, PR China. Based on the point cloud data from TLS, tree height, base diameter, first branch height, vegetation fractional coverage (VFC) and leaf area index (LAI) were quantified. The results showed that, in the earlier stage of afforestation, different species differed significantly in most tree parameters. Conifers and evergreen broadleaved trees with lower first branch height had higher LAI and VFC than broadleaved deciduous trees, which may reduce rainfall erosivity. Based on the established model between LAI and sediment concentration, deciduous broadleaved trees were predicted to have the highest sediment concentration. Further analyses will now be conducted on the dataset and presented at the conference in Göttingen

Measurement of the circular polarization in radio emission from extensive air showers confirms emission mechanisms

We report here on a novel analysis of the complete set of four Stokes parameters that uniquely determine the linear and/or circular polarization of the radio signal for an extensive air shower. The observed dependency of the circular polarization on azimuth angle and distance to the shower axis is a clear signature of the interfering contributions from two different radiation mechanisms, a main contribution due to a geomagnetically-induced transverse current and a secondary component due to the build-up of excess charge at the shower front. The data, as measured at LOFAR, agree very well with a calculation from first principles. This opens the possibility to use circular polarization as an investigative tool in the analysis of air shower structure, such as for the determination of atmospheric electric fields.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Determining atmospheric electric fields using MGMR3D

Cosmic-ray particles impinging on the atmosphere induce high-energy particle cascades in air, an Extensive Air Shower (EAS), emitting coherent radio emission. This emission is affected by the presence of strong electric fields during thunderstorm conditions. To reconstruct the atmospheric electric field from the measured radio footprint of the EAS we use an analytic model for the calculation of the radio emission, MGMR3D. In this work we make an extensive comparison between the results of a microscopic model for radio emission, CoREAS, to obtain an improved parametrization for MGMR3D in the presence of atmospheric electric fields, as well as confidence intervals. The approach to extract the electric field structure is applied successfully to an event with a complicated radio footprint measured by LOFAR during thunderstorm conditions. This shows that, with the improved parametrization, MGMR3D can be used to extract the structure of the atmospheric electric field.Comment: The paper is accepted for publication in Physical Review

Current Results of the EC-sponsored Catchment Modelling (CatchMod) Cluster

To support the Water Framework Directive implementation, much research has been commissioned at both national and European levels. CatchMod is a cluster of these projects, which is focusing on the development of computational catchment models and related tools. This paper presents an overview of the results of the CatchMod cluster to dat

Sport, physical activity and the establishment of Health and Wellbeing Boards in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

This paper will examine the emergence of Health and Wellbeing Boards in Nottinghamshire and the City of Nottingham and explore the implications for sport and physical activity. At the time of writing the transfer of responsibilities for Public Health and the establishment of Health and Wellbeing Boards in both the City of Nottingham and within Nottinghamshire County Council are considered to be relatively advanced by the Strategic Health Authorities, the respective local authorities and by the boards of the two Primary Care Trusts. "Shadow"� Health and Well being Board have been established in both authorities and they have been meeting regularly for s everal months. Public health and commissioning staff have also been successfully relocated and new strategies and priorities are starting to emerge. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have traditionally acknowledged the role of sport and physical activity to the wider determinants of public health and given a relatively high priority to the contribution that sport and physical activity can make to the ir preventative health and early intervention agendas. This paper will look at the transition to Health and Wellbeing boards to assess how the role of sport and physical activity may be changing and to identify opportunities for its contribution to policy and practise in the future. It will examine both the theory and practise behind the emerging governance arr angements, the strategic objectives and priorities, and the developing evidential base for future policy and delivery within the two areas